Women’s Rights National Historical Park (NHP) will hold Convention Days 2023 on July 21 through 23.
Convention Days has long been a signature event in Seneca Falls focusing on the revolutionary 1848 Seneca Falls Women’s Rights Convention through art, scholarship, and public engagement. Convention Days 2023 commemorates the 175th anniversary of the first women’s rights convention.
In 1848, five women planned a convention that has sparked legal and legislative activism for the last 175 years. The Seneca Falls Women’s Rights Convention was the first public meeting to focus specifically on “…the social, civil, and religious condition and rights of Woman, …” Held in the Wesleyan Methodist Chapel on July 19 and 20, about 300 people came to discuss and debate the rights of women in America for two days. On each day of the convention, the Declaration of Sentiments was read to the assembly. The Declaration describes in detail the ways that the laws of the time failed women; failed to protect their rights, their safety, and their potential.
In recognition of this, the theme of Convention Days at Women’s Rights National Historical Park is: “Women, Gender, and the Law.” Invited speakers, partners, and visitors will explore the conditions and legal structures that motivated the reformers of 1848 to organize.
“We are excited to have visitors to join us as we discuss the ways that the Seneca Falls Convention inspired changes in American democracy and representation, and the most fundamental pillars of American citizenship,” says Chief of Interpretation Janine Waller.
Convention Days is a community-wide celebration in Seneca Falls. Check out social media and the websites of other community museums for special events. Convention Days will be held rain or shine. Public parking is available throughout town and accessible parking will also be available behind the Women’s Rights NHP Visitor Center.
Anyone interested in volunteering for this event should contact the park at 315-568-0024 or e-mail WORI_information_desk@nps.gov.
Women’s Rights National Historical Park is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, visit the park’s website at http://www.nps.gov/wori.
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